Hi Eric, Thanks for reporting back. I think the shortcuts listed on the Safari preference pane for tabs did work more reliably in earlier versions of Safari, and there was at least one web page that I found where using a control+mouse click on a link -- not just a mouse click alone -- worked to bring up the context menu. (With mouse keys turned on, I held down the Control key and then tapped the "i" key. I did not have NumPad Commander enabled on a laptop with the third-party KeyRemap4MacBook software loaded.)
The substitution of enter for click in the listed shortcuts works for the same reason that using Option+Enter works for VoiceOver users to force downloads of linked files, while general Mac users will know this as using the Option+Click shortcut to force downloads of files. This may also explain the situations where usage with VoiceOver gets flakey. By the way, I'll continue to describe this as "Option+Enter", but a Mac purist would say this is "Option+Return". There's a different keyboard code for the "Enter" key than for the "Return" key, and the "Enter" key can be used to rename files in Finder, but it cannot be used to exit dialog windows by sending the default selections, as the "Return" key does, both on the Mac, and on the virtual keyboard of iOS devices. If VoiceOver is not turned on, but the mouse cursor is positioned at a link, pressing the Option key while clicking with either mouse of Trackpad indicates the selected file that is clicked on should be downloaded. But if VoiceOver is turned on, we are using full keyboard access, and this means that in addition to the standard shortcut keys, "Space bar" selects a highlighted button and "Return" opens a highlighted link. When the VoiceOver cursor moves to the link, it highlights it in the same way that clicking on the link indicates selection (along with a command to open the link). So when we use "Option+Enter (really Return)", with VoiceOver on (and focused on the link), and hence with full keyboard access enabled, we perform the same selection and activation with the Option key modifier as sighted users do with Option+Click. Here's another way to tell that highlighting the selection (done with VoiceOver focused on the link) plus pressing Option+Enter works to force a dow nload: whether or not someone is using VoiceOver. If you started playing an mp3 file associated with a link in your browser, because you clicked on the link, you can force the file to download without going back to the link by pressing Command+L, which moves to the address bar and highlights the URL, and then pressing Option+Enter (really "Return"). That works whether or not someone is using VoiceOver. Now lets look at the cases where people have had problems highlighting a link and forcing a download with Option+Enter. The most common case people reported of not simply being able to move to the link, route their mouse cursor to the VoiceOver cursor, and press Option+Enter to download, was on the podcast links of the main Blind Cool Tech podcast page. Unless you first interact with that link, which also gets announced as a heading, you could not use Option+Enter to download the podcast. Also, another thing that did not work unless your first interacted with the link to the podcast on the BCT podcast page was getting the context menu options to open the linked content in a new page or download it when you used VO-Shift-M. I think what may happen in problem cases where these Option+Enter (equivalent to Option-click) and Command+Option+Shift+Enter (equivalent to command+option+shift+click) shortcuts do not work, is that the HTML coding for the link on the page is not letting VoiceOver automatically highlight the necessary information for the link within the VoiceOver cursor. This reminds me a bit of the navigation experience in the old MobileMe web pages, where, like your arrowing away from and then back on to a link in order to use the Shift-Command-Option-Enter shortcut, some of what I could do depended on how I navigated to the web page elements. This is just conjecture, but it does explain why, if other web page elements are present, you might find using the shortcuts apparently unreliable. Command-Option-Enter should have opened the link in a new window, while Shift-Command-Option-Enter should have opened the link in a new window and made it the active window. (I think Sarah must have the box in Safari preferences for tabs, for "When a new tab or window opens, make it active.) Josh asked, in another post, how one changed the settings on the Safari Preferences window for tabs. I'm not sure if this is what he means, but basically, you can set your preferences to open new web pages in either a new tab of your browser, or a new window. The current default setting for Safari is to open new web pages in a new tab. Some versions back, the default used to be to open new web pages in a new window. You make your selection by setting the pop menu to "Open pages in tabs instead of windows" either "Always" (if you use tabs) or "Never" (if you use windows). HTH. Cheers, Esther On 7 Apr 2013, at 12:41, Eric Caron wrote: > Hi Esther and others, > > I found the short cuts where you indicated but I would not have known > to substitute enter for click. One more interesting detail. I believe I did > try command, Option, Enter on the link and nothing happened several times. I > went back to the NLS BARD site and practiced a bit. I found that if I am > going down the list and land on the link I want to open in a new window it > often doesn't respond to Command, Option, Enter or Shift, Command, Option > Enter unless I arrow away from the link then come back to it. It then seems > to work consistently. So if the command is not working for someone out there > try arrowing away and then back to the link. Like Esther I was questioning > my memory as I thought command,Option Enter was supposed to open a link in a > new window. But, it just was not working! Now, it does if I arrow away and > back. Doing a mouse click on the link also did not make the key command work. > > Still this is a quick way to get the site to do what I need. > > Eric Caron > > On Apr 7, 2013, at 1:15 PM, Esther <[email protected]> wrote: > >> Hi Eric, >> >> Now I'm feeling senile and forgetful. The keyboard shortcut options are >> actually listed on the tab preferences pane of Safari, if you read down past >> the pop up menu that for opening pages in tabs or windows, and use enter >> instead of click. >> >> Cheers, >> >> Esther >> >> On 7 Apr 2013, at 06:43, Eric Caron wrote: >> >>> Hi Sarah, Esther, and others, >>> >>> I tried Esther's and Sarah's suggestions and Sarah's worked! Command, >>> Option, Shift, Enter pressed when on the link of the book title opened the >>> link in a window that when closed left me back in my original location on >>> the web site. This will be a huge time saver for me on the NLS BARD site. >>> I look forward to trying this on other sites such as Amazon to see if it >>> also works. >>> >>> I tried changing the setting as Esther described but unless I did it wrong >>> it didn't work the way I needed. >>> >>> Without this community on lists like this one, how would I ever have found >>> that key combination? Thanks everyone. >>> >>> Eric Caron >>> On Apr 7, 2013, at 12:13 PM, Sarah k Alawami <[email protected]> wrote: >>> >>>> If you hit cmd option shift enter it normally opens in a new window, at >>>> least for me. There is a safari extension to do this but I forgot what it >>>> was called and I uninstalled it as safari freezes when I install >>>> extensions and i can't get to the install dialogue. or button quick enough. >>>> >>>> Take care. >>>> On Apr 7, 2013, at 9:00 AM, "Phil Halton" <[email protected]> wrote: >>>> >>>>> This is the one big failing of Safari in my opinion. I don't know why >>>>> they don't fix this so that returning from a link positions you back at >>>>> the same spot on the webpage. I'll be watching this thread with interest. >>>>> >>>>> ----- Original Message ----- From: "Eric Caron" >>>>> <[email protected]> >>>>> To: "Mac OSX & iOS Accessibility" <[email protected]> >>>>> Sent: Sunday, April 07, 2013 9:21 AM >>>>> Subject: How to Open link in new window? >>>>> >>>>> >>>>>> Hi listers, >>>>>> >>>>>> I thought there was a way to open a link in a new window so that you >>>>>> could then return to the original web page and be in the same position. >>>>>> I can't seem to find that command. >>>>>> >>>>>> Here is what I'm trying to do. I am in the NLS BARD and land on a book >>>>>> I want to add to my wish list. I press the link and go to a new page >>>>>> where I add the book then press back to summery list. I then return to >>>>>> the original web page but am at the top and now have to sort through >>>>>> 18,000 items or more to get back to the place I was at. Item chooser >>>>>> works but is slow. If I could return to the site at the same location I >>>>>> left from I would save lots of time. >>>>>> >>>>>> Suggestions are greatly appreciated! >>>>>> >>>>>> Eric Caron <--- Mac Access At Mac Access Dot Net ---> To reply to this post, please address your message to [email protected] You can find an archive of all messages posted to the Mac-Access forum at either the list's own dedicated web archive: <http://mail.tft-bbs.co.uk/pipermail/mac-access/index.html> or at the public Mail Archive: <http://www.mail-archive.com/[email protected]/>. Subscribe to the list's RSS feed from: <http://www.mail-archive.com/[email protected]/maillist.xml> As the Mac Access Dot Net administrators, we do our very best to ensure that the Mac-Access E-Mal list remains malware, spyware, Trojan, virus and worm-free. However, this should in no way replace your own security strategy. We assume neither liability nor responsibility should something unpredictable happen. 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